


Ferrum Hiemem

by KagekaNecavi



Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Brainwashing, Bucky Barnes is War Machine, Cap_Ironman Holiday Gift Exchange 2016, James Rhodes is Captain America, M/M, Pre-Slash, Steve Rogers is Iron Man, Tags Contain Spoilers, tony stark is the winter soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 18:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8906776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KagekaNecavi/pseuds/KagekaNecavi
Summary: In an alternate timeline where James Rhodes is Captain America, Steve Rogers is Iron Man, and Bucky Barnes is War Machine, Tony Stark is the one who fell off the train in the mountains and became the Winter Soldier. Fortunately for him one thing that is common across nearly every timeline is the friendship, love, and support the Avengers have for each other.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kakushigo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kakushigo/gifts).



> Note to my gift recipient: I am sure you were probably expecting to see the prompt I’d had the mods ask you questions about, with the DC crossover thing. Well when you mentioned you liked Tim/Kon I went “Me, too! I've never really read that though,” and proceeded to look up rec lists. Upon realizing I own several of the comics on the list (primarily Young Justice) I started reading them while at the same time doing research and writing for another exchange I’m doing at the moment. Then I realized I’d never reach my own standards before the end of the exchange, so I decided to switch it up a little. But I do hope that I can write that DC/Marvel fic eventually! (And with your permission because the idea would have come from you.)
> 
> A few (fairly minor) content warnings at the end, as well as the prompts that I did pick to follow for this (I combined two!) and a few other notes.

Though every so often he was aware enough of his frozen, eternal hell to feel the cold deep in his bones, he mostly slept. Indeterminate amounts of time passed in which he was aware of absolutely nothing, but occasionally he dreamed. Some dreams were clearly of his past. Fighting a war against horrific opponents with his best friend by his side. A train in a snowstorm. Meeting eyes helplessly one last time, eyes wide with shock and the sudden, gut wrenching agony that followed.

Other dreams were of a time that he instinctively knew had not yet come to pass, and yet felt as familiar to him as the rest of the dreams. A team of costumed superheroes all fighting against a common enemy and celebrating together when they were finished. Sparring sessions with a significant other turning into something more heated. Sitting with groups of other heroes out of uniform and knowing that he belonged and was accepted, even if he felt uncomfortable there sometimes.

So when he opened his eyes and saw a red, angry skull leering over him while he was strapped into a cryotube and came to the conclusion that he was having a nightmare, it was somewhat understandable.

“Someone did a number on your face,” he snarked, partly out of reflex and partly to hide the fear that was coursing through him. The man scowled and nodded at a green haired woman standing next to him. She grinned and backhanded him, then unstrapped him and gestured for him to follow. Something deep in him instinctively forced obedience and he followed her into another room that contained little more than a chair, with straps at the ankles and chest and arms and wrists and something that was clearly intended to press against the head of the person sitting in it.

Panic flooded him, but the green haired woman pushed him forward into the chair and that instinctive obedience kept him going.

His last thought, when he was strapped into the chair and began to scream as electricity coursed through his brain, was that he wished he’d been able to struggle.

 

* * *

 

“Do you need help with that?” Tony’s head snaps up at the words, dropping the screwdriver and reaching for a knife, cold terror filling his gut at the fact that someone has been able to sneak up on him. He spins around, knife raised to throw, and relaxes when he sees Steve there, hands raised in a non-threatening gesture.

Not that Steve isn’t a danger all by himself, given his abilities. Anyone with his physical abilities would be, and then Steve has the tactical genius to back it up.

“What do you want?” Tony asks, tucking the knife away again and going back to the arm that he’s working on.

“I was wondering if you wanted some help, that’s all,” Steve says, lowering his hands and walking a little bit closer. His steps are careful, like Tony is a skittish animal, and Tony wants to snap his teeth at Steve for that. It’s very tempting, but he resists the impulse.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?” When Tony looks over at him Steve looks genuinely confused, which confuses Tony in turn.

“People aren’t good for no reason. Why do you want to help? What do you want in return?” Tony elaborates. It seems obvious to him. Maybe Steve isn’t as smart as Tony thought. Which doesn’t make sense because Tony’s impression of Steve is built mostly from what Rhodey told him, and while he doesn’t remember much he knows Rhodey is reliable.

“Before this,” Steve gestures down at himself, “I was skinny and sick. That’s why I volunteered for the program that made me like this. So I remember very clearly what it’s like to need help and to not want to admit it.”

Tony frowns and looks down at the arm he’s building, then at the empty space starting just below his elbow. After he and Rhodey had gotten the Hydra arm off he hadn’t trusted anything but a replacement of his own design. Now he’s doing everything one-handed and he’s not used to that. He absolutely hates admitting he needs help, and obviously Steve realizes that. After a moment he nods. “Okay. You can help. Hand me tools and hold things and just … be an extra pair of hands.” Tony’s cheeks redden a little, feeling like he’d made a damning confession, and he looks back at the repulsor arm he’s building.

“Thanks. It means a lot to me that you’re agreeing,” Steve says, and after a moment he adds in a ridiculously cheerful voice, “I’ll get us food in a little bit!”

Tony rolls his eyes but he’s secretly pleased. He has Rhodey of course, and Pepper, and he’s slowly getting to know the other people on campus but Steve seems different. The way Tony feels about him is different, and Tony can’t put his finger on exactly why.

 

* * *

 

He stood between Red Skull and Madame Hydra, watching the students of the enemy school as Madame Hydra and Skull traded barbs with them. Mostly he just ignored them, waiting until he was instructed to act.

And then a man in red, white, and blue robotic armor, whom the Red Skull had called Captain America, pulled his helmet off. The man in the armor had dark skin and warm, worried eyes and something about him was very familiar, but it was still startling for the armored man to suddenly switch tactics from bantering with the Skull to speaking to the Soldier. “Tony, come on, it’s Rhodey. You’ve got to remember me.”

“Pleading with the Winter Soldier? Trying to get his humanity back? Do not bother. He’s nothing more than an attack dog now,” Skull said, laughing a little.

“No, he’s not. He’s still Tony Stark, one of the brightest minds of his generation or this one. Still my best friend,” the man in the armor - Rhodey? - said firmly.

Madame Hydra sneered at them, raising her hand and gesturing with it. The Winter Soldier - because despite Rhodey’s insistence, the name ‘Tony’ did not feel familiar at all - obediently pulled out a gun and fired at the students facing off against them. They sprang into action, and the Soldier saw a hurt look cross Rhodey’s face before the faceplate went down again and he, too, joined the fray.

 

* * *

 

“Oh my god you made that target explode!! Do it again!!” Jan squeals excitedly as Tony enters the blasting range. He hesitates, unsure he wants an audience for this test, but keeping Rhodey’s advice about making new friends in mind he keeps going. When he turns the corner he sees Natasha, Janet, and Bucky there. Jan is in her small form, flitting around like a hyperactive hummingbird, and Natasha is standing at the firing point with a huge weapon that looked scavenged off of an alien or something. Bucky is watching her with a fond smile, arms crossed. His metal arm is bare, visible to the world, and it makes Tony self conscious about his own robotic arm.

Jan is the first one to see Tony, and she flies over to him, stopping in the air several feet away. “Tony! I’m glad to see you coming out and doing things on your own. What brings you here today?”

“I made a prosthetic for my arm and I wanted to test out the defensive capabilities in it,” Tony says, hesitantly. It occurs to him that the only people that know what went into the arm are Steve, Rhodey, and Pepper. Rhodey and Pepper insisted that Tony be able to defend himself and Steve had actually made a few helpful suggestions. But he’s not so sure that the others will approve as easily.

“Defensive or offensive?” Bucky asks, his tone curious but without judgment.

“I … technically I guess it’s offensive but I don’t want to use it to attack anyone. I just want to use it to protect myself and other people who might need it,” Tony stiffens a little, feeling awkward and exposed.

“Defensive it is then,” Nat says and her voice is surprisingly gentle without seeming pitying or condescending. “Do you need us to leave so you can test it in private?”

Something about the offer makes the knots in Tony’s gut unclench a little and he shakes his head. “No … no, actually, I think it would be good to have someone here to watch. More people to provide input.”

“Great! We’ll stand back while you test it the first time.” Jan says, and they give him some room.

Tony goes up to the firing point and raises his arm, focusing and firing a repulsor at the target. The concussive force obliterates the target, sending debris all over the backstop. There is silence for a moment and Tony turns wide eyes onto Jan, Natasha, and Bucky. They look shocked as well, though Natasha is much better at hiding it.

He’s terrified that he’s going to be in trouble for creating something with so much force to it, that they’ll tell Fury or Odin and he’ll be expelled from the school, but after a moment they burst out talking over each other, telling him how awesome that was. A small smile creeps up on his face and when a new target pops up he adjusts the force of the repulsor and fires again, hesitantly letting himself relax.

 

* * *

 

When the Red Skull found out that Madame Hydra switched sides, he was absolutely furious. “She can’t do that! No one leaves Hydra Academy and lives! When we finally defeat those fools, she’s going to be the first one I kill, and I am going to make it slow and very painful.”

That didn’t exactly seem like the best recruitment strategy to the soldier. ‘Come join our school. We’ll kill you if you try to leave!’ It didn’t sound like it’d go well on the brochures. He very nearly said something to that effect, but right before he spoke he realized that if he did say it he would more than likely get punished - an image of a chair and the memory of being strapped down and electrocuted popped up in his mind, so clearly that his skin tingled and prickled with faint, phantom pain. So he said nothing, instead listening to the Skull rant for another ten minutes about Madame Hydra’s betrayal.

Eventually Skull stopped to take a breath and the Soldier asked, “What’s the plan?”

“The plan?! The plan is we destroy them!!” Skull bellowed. The Soldier raised an eyebrow. That plan had worked so well so far, so keeping at it without changing a thing ought to work just fine.

Some part of him still felt compelled to obey the Skull’s orders, but the longer he went without being in that chair the more he could feel his free will - and apparently a very dry and sarcastic personality - returning. Hopefully Skull wouldn’t notice until it was too late.

 

* * *

 

Rhodey sits on the desk nearby, finishing off the food Steve had brought Tony earlier, and watches as Tony solders a wire in place, making Tony feel a little self conscious. “Are you going to just stare at me and eat my food or are you going to help like you said you would?” Tony asks eventually, glancing over.

“I can do both. I’ll stare at you and eat your food first, then I’ll help,” Rhodey salutes him a little with the fork, “I’m talented like that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony says, but he’s actually glad for the company. The past few days have been rough. He’s been having trouble getting to sleep and when he finally sleeps he tends to dream of missions he was sent on. Sometimes it’s vague, sometimes it’s very specific. His concentration has been off and on. Either he can focus on his work very well or he can’t focus at all and has to do something else. So having Rhodey here is comforting.

“That’s amazing by the way?” Rhodey says, breaking Tony out of his thoughts.

“What is?” Tony glances up, then remembers himself and dabs the soldering iron on its sponge and puts it away in its cradle. It’s never a good idea to stop looking at what you’re soldering while you’re still holding the iron.

“Well, I meant that hand you made, but now that I’m looking at it, this armor is amazing, too,” Rhodey says, gesturing towards the half finished armor behind Tony. “What you built us during the war was fantastic, but this … this is something else.”

“You’ll get some, too, once I’m done with mine,” Tony reassures him.

“I wasn’t trying to compliment you into making me new armor!” Rhodey protests and Tony frowns a little. Rhodey actually sounds kind of offended as he continues, “I mean, of course I appreciate the offer, but I know you’re working through some stuff right now. I wouldn’t want to make you do anything you’re not ready for.”

Oh. Rhodey doesn’t want him to feel like he’s trying to use Tony. That makes sense. Tony shakes his head, “When I can concentrate on making things it soothes me. Besides, that armor that they have you in right now is bullshit and needs replaced.”

Rhodey laughs. “If you insist, Tones. Just don’t push yourself, and if you need any help let me know. I’m here for you.”

Tony nods a little and turns back to his soldering, feeling embarrassed and pleased all at once.

 

* * *

 

“Tony, please,” Rhodey said, his faceplate off. Again. They were in the middle of a battle, that didn’t exactly seem like the best idea. “You know me. You know Pepper. I know you can break free of whatever Skull did to you.”

Another one of the heroes, a man with a concave discus, added, “I don’t know much about you, Tony, just what your friends have told me, but you sound like a true hero. It’d be a shame for you to stay under Skull’s thumb.”

“Thank you, Iron Man,” Rhodey said, tossing him a sincere grin. He turned back to the Soldier and said, “See? Even people that have never met you believe in you.”

The Soldier frowned a little, feeling a faint sense of déjà vu. Almost like he’d seen Iron Man in a dream and had forgotten it until that moment, and it slipped away from him just as soon as he’d gotten the memory.

When he focused back on Rhodey, though, that familiar feeling about him was blossoming into something else. Faint memories coming back of their past. Not many, but enough for a solid start.

Tony nodded and glanced down at himself. He’d lost most of one arm at just below the elbow … at some point in the past. When, exactly, was currently a little vague. At the moment the prosthetic on his arm was a piece of Hydra tech and he wanted it gone. Now.

“Okay. Yeah. Skull is a piece of trash anyway and I can’t believe anyone would follow him without being brainwashed. Since I’m starting to remember a few things, I may as well stick with you. Now help me get this thing off of me,” he said, rolling up his sleeve and gesturing to the robotic arm.

Rhodey glanced at Iron Man and asked, “Steve, do you guys have this?”

“Yeah, we’ve got it. Go take care of your friend. I’m glad you’ve got him back,” Steve gave Rhodey a nod and turned back to where the others were kicking Skull’s ass.

“I keep an emergency repair kit in a panel in the armor - we can use that to get this thing off you,” Rhodey said, leading Tony away from the fight, “Then once you’re settled in here we’ll see about getting you a replacement.”

Though he was vaguely suspicious at the idea of anyone being nice to him just to be nice, it still felt good knowing that Rhodey was going to help him. He had a feeling this was going to be a long road.

 

* * *

 

“Why did you want me here? I can understand wanting Rhodey here, but me?” Steve asks as Tony suits up. Tony stops halfway through putting a gauntlet on and peers at Steve, trying to guess the motive behind the question. Likely knowing exactly what’s going through Tony’s head, Steve elaborates, “I’m honored, I really am. But Rhodey is your best friend. You’ve known him almost all of your life. It just makes more sense for him to be here.”

“That’s a good point,” Tony admits, picking his words carefully, “But you’re the one who talked T’Challa into giving me the temporary workshop space while the space Rhodey got for me was still being set up. You make sure I eat and get enough sleep every day. You first met me when I was under Hydra’s control and yet you helped make a home for me here. So I wanted you to be the one who sees this first.”

Steve smiles at him and nods. “Thank you, Tony. This means a lot to me.”

Tony nods, too, and goes back to putting the armor on. He’s actually sort of nervous, but is trying to hide it. As far as he can remember he hasn’t worn armor like this since … well, before. But he’s determined and despite the nerves he’s thrilled at the idea that he might also be able to fly soon with the armor.

Once he’s all suited up, he runs a short diagnostic check and before he can lift off, Steve says, “Tony? Take the helmet off really quick for me, okay?”

He’s puzzled, but does so, holding it at his side and asking, “Why?”

“I wanted to say something first. I know this isn’t a good time to say this, and you’re really vulnerable right now, but …” Steve fidgets a little and takes a few steps towards Tony until he can put his hands on Tony’s armored shoulders. “I think I’ve developed feelings for you the past few weeks. Enough that, when you’re ready, I’d like to date you.” After a brief pause he presses his lips gently against Tony’s, then pulls away. “Don’t answer now, okay? Think about it, maybe get advice from Rhodey and Pepper first. I don’t want you to feel pressured into anything. But I did want to say something, and if you want to just stay friends I’m okay with that.”

Tony nods. He will talk to Rhodey and Pepper because that’s good advice, but he thinks he already knows what his answer will be. Until this moment he hadn’t known what name to give the feeling but now that he does he knows that he wants this, too. “Okay. Stand back. I tested the boots on their own and while it should be safe for people to be nearby when I lift off, I don’t want to take too many chances until I can properly test it.”

Steve nods and stands back about thirty feet, then gives Tony two thumbs up. Tony smiles at him wider than he has in a long time and shoves the helmet onto his head. He lifts off after quickly running the diagnostics again and once he’s sure he won’t immediately fall back to the ground, he’s off like a shot. He lets out an almost involuntary whoop of excitement and something inside him uncoils and relaxes. This feels natural. It feels right. He was born to do this, to be here with Steve and Rhodey and the other heroes. He knows he has a lot to make up for, but he has a lot of people supporting him and they’ll be with him every step of the way.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Content warnings: Because Red Skull is here and this is (loosely) following AvAc plotlines, we have a main character being brainwashed and working, unwillingly, with Nazis for a short time. There's also brief references to the brainwashing and to the fact that the brainwashing method is about as painful as torture. At one point Tony internally describes experiencing something that could be PTSD. I think that's about it.
> 
> The two prompts I combined were as follows:  
> Any: In which Tony takes on Steve's role and Steve takes on Tony's (so, in 616, Steve is Iron Man- industrialist & Iron Man. Tony is Captain America. In 1872: Tony is Sheriff and Steve is blacksmith)
> 
> AVaC: Tony & prosthetic arm
> 
>  
> 
> Their roles aren’t exactly reversed, mostly because the prosthetic arm got me thinking more of connecting Tony and Bucky than Tony and Steve.. And I love the idea of Rhodey being Captain America.
> 
> I also don’t remember the exact timeline of the in-game events that I’m borrowing part of this plot from, so artistic license is used at some points.
> 
> Oh yeah I never quite worked it in but my logic for Steve calling himself Iron Man as a superhero was a riff off of Superman, because Superman is called the Man of Steel. So my thinking was he took that and played with it, used different metals, flipped the words back and forth, and finally landed on and liked 'Iron Man.'
> 
> Additionally, there’s a point where they’re at the blasting range and I use a few terms to refer to specific places there (specifically ‘firing point’ and ‘back stop’). I got those terms from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_range#Firing_point). 
> 
> And last but not least, the title of the fic comes to us via Google Translate. My original thought was Frozen Iron, which made me think too much of a certain other ship, but because I know iron's symbol on the periodic table is Fe, that means in Latin 'iron' probably starts 'fe'-something. So I tossed that into Google Translate, then kept playing around with it. So, per Google Translate, [Iron Winter in Latin is Ferrum Hiemem](https://translate.google.com/?rlz=1C1CHKZ_enUS436US436&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&client=tw-ob#en/la/iron%20winter). Which I kinda like.


End file.
